Carl Levin

November 4, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich., filed the following floor statement today regarding the Senate’s consideration of a bill that will extend unemployment benefits.

Mr. President, the measure we have before us is vital to the three-quarters of a million people in Michigan who are unemployed. It is vital to the 15.1 million Americans who are unemployed. It will keep them in their homes. It will keep their children fed and clothed.    » read more »

October 27, 2009 -- WASHINGTON — Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, both D-Mich., announced today that Michigan researchers will receive more than $5 million for work on clean energy technologies for motor vehicles. The funding comes from the Department of Energy’s recently-formed Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). General Motors will receive $2,655,174 and Michigan State University will receive $2,540,631.

“Michigan has always been a leader in manufacturing and the auto industry, and these grants will keep this cutting-edge work happening in our state,” Levin said. “Achieving energy independence is critical to our economic and environmental interests.”    » read more »

October 27, 2009 -- WASHINGTON — Two Michigan companies will receive grants totaling $103,158,878 for projects designed to ease the nation’s transition to a smarter electrical system, U.S. Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, both D-Mich., announced today. The Detroit Edison Company will receive $83,828,878 and the Whirlpool Corporation in Benton Harbor will receive $19,330,000. The funds were made available by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.    » read more »

October 27, 2009 -- WASHINGTON — Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, both D-Mich., announced today that Michigan researchers will receive more than $5 million for work on clean energy technologies for motor vehicles. The funding comes from the Department of Energy’s recently-formed Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The General Motors Company in Warren will receive $2,655,174 and Michigan State University in East Lansing will receive $2,540,631.

“Michigan has always been a leader in manufacturing and the auto industry, and these grants will keep this cutting-edge work happening in our state,” Levin said. “Achieving energy independence is critical to our economic and environmental interests.”    » read more »

October 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Senators Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich, and Carl Levin, D-Mich.., announced today that Michigan and the Great Lakes will receive $88,606,000 in the FY 2010 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.    » read more »

Congress recently reached agreement on landmark legislation that brings our nation closer to living up to its ideals.

October 16, 2009 -- "Senate and House negotiators included the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. The act, which I helped shape as the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, will soon become law.

The hate crimes language included in the act has passed both houses of Congress in the past. Existing law gives federal officials jurisdiction over crimes of violence which are committed because of a person's race, color, religion, and national origin. The new language adds gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability and membership in the military.    » read more »

October 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Senators Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., announced today that Michigan and the Great Lakes will receive $88,606,000 in the FY 2010 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.    » read more »

Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

October 15, 2009 -- "Mr. President, I will vote to approve this conference agreement to provide over $33 billion for a variety of energy and water infrastructure projects and programs. Michigan is surrounded by the Great Lakes, and the funding provided in this conference report to the Army Corps to maintain the navigational infrastructure and to cleanup and protect the Great Lakes is especially important.

Michigan also will benefit from the investments in clean energy technologies and energy efficiency programs provided in this bill that will help create a more sustainable economy while producing quality jobs.    » read more »

October 14, 2009 -- WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich., issued the following statement today on the IRS announcement of preliminary results from its offshore bank account voluntary disclosure program. Levin is chairman of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which has investigated tax haven abuse for the last decade.    » read more »

October 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Carl Levin (D-MI) announced the inclusion of $48,243,000 for 18 Michigan projects in the FY 2010 Agriculture Appropriations conference report which passed the Senate yesterday. This appropriations bill provides funding for the Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, rural development programs, and related agencies. The bill will now be sent to President Obama for his signature.    » read more »

October 5, 2009 -- "Mr. President, the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California, Davis released an important report earlier this month detailing many of the potential dangers at gun shows. The report, Inside Gun Shows: What Goes on When Everybody Thinks Nobody’s Watching, was composed from an analysis of existing research as well as direct observation and photographic evidence.

During a three year period, data was collected from 78 gun shows in 19 states. The report provides a clear illustration of a largely unregulated gun market that is “an important source of guns used in criminal violence.”    » read more »

October 2, 2009 -- President Obama recently announced that he has accepted the unanimous recommendation of his civilian and military advisors to restructure our plan for missile defense in Europe. This plan will better protect our security and that of our allies.

The plan the president has outlined replaces one established during the previous administration. That plan would have established an anti-missile radar and an interceptor launch site in Eastern Europe. It would have taken years to deploy. Instead, the new system, with a combination of ship- and land-based missiles, will deploy faster and is better designed to counter Iranian missiles, which are the primary threat in that part of the world.    » read more »

September 30, 2009 -- "Mr. President, currently the nation’s unemployment rate is higher than it has been since 1983. In my home state of Michigan, the unemployment rate is 15.2 percent – 5.5 percent higher than the nation’s unemployment rate of 9.7 percent. Translated into real people, this means that 14.9 million Americans are unemployed, of which, more than 735,000 are living in my home state.

Michigan provides a little more than 450,000 individuals with unemployment benefits. As of September 18, more than 26,000 Michiganders have exhausted much needed unemployment benefits and by the end of this year, this number will rise to more than 100,000 folks. Since the beginning of this year, Michigan has been losing on average 27,000 jobs per month. Our people need help.    » read more »

More Than 13,000 Workers in 27 Counties Will Benefit

September 29, 2009 -- WASHINGTON — More than 13,000 laid-off workers across Michigan will be assisted by three grants totaling $38,033,600, U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, both D-Mich., announced today. The National Emergency Grants from the U.S. Department of Labor will go to the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth for use in 27 counties.

“These grants will play a critical role in assisting the thousands of laid-off workers in Michigan, and I will continue to fight for more funding to support our workforce,” Levin said. “The retraining services these grants will provide will help lead to a diversified work force which can better adapt to new industries.”    » read more »

September 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., said the following today regarding President Obama’s European missile defense announcement:

President Obama has made a sound choice that will improve our security. The President’s decision focuses on fielding effective capabilities to defend our forward deployed force and allies in Europe against the real and existing missile threat from Iran, which consists of short- and medium-range missiles, rather than only against a potential future long-range threat.    » read more »